Get tough on abuse, says Labour chief

Latest figures show police in Scotland dealing with 52,000 incidents of domestic abuse a year – or 145 incidents a day. More than 60 per cent of cases are officially classed as crimes, but only two in five are referred to the fiscal. A quarter involve people aged under 25.

Ms Lamont said: “Domestic abuse is rightly seen as unacceptable, but the number of incidents recorded has increased by 20,000 in the last decade. This is a horrific crime and we need to keep speaking openly about it, challenging unacceptable behaviour before it escalates.”

Labour is calling for dedicated domestic abuse courts and wants police forces to set up specialist task forces to train colleagues in dealing with domestic abuse.